Kirill Kudryavtsev has spent two seasons proving that a seventh-round pick can still carve out real value, and that’s why he’s sitting at No. 5 in the CanucksArmy summer prospect rankings.
The 22-year-old Abbotsford Canucks defenseman is the highest-rated blueliner in the system. He was also fifth in these rankings last offseason, so while he didn’t climb, he managed to hold his place even with the Canucks adding more prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Kudryavtsev’s path has been built on trust and steady work. After beating the odds as the 208th overall pick in 2022, he became a dependable part of Abbotsford’s defense group and earned the confidence of former Abbotsford head coach, now Vancouver head coach, Manny Malhotra.
As a rookie pro, he played 65 games and put up five goals and 21 assists for 26 points. He was scratched early in Abbotsford’s run to the Calder Cup Championship, but he worked his way back into the lineup and saw his minutes rise as the playoffs went on. He carried that momentum into last season, when Abbotsford’s blue line changed around him and he was pushed into a much bigger role.
Last season, Kudryavtsev logged top-pairing minutes and was a regular on both the power play and penalty kill. Even while dealing with injury, he still managed 20 points in 44 games. That production helped earn him another look in the NHL, and this time he picked up a pair of assists in his first two games.
What makes Kudryavtsev such a useful piece is his reliability. The Yaroslavl, Russia, native can be used in just about any situation, and he tends to handle it well.
At 5’11” and 201 pounds, he isn’t the biggest defender on the ice, but he uses his lower-body strength to hold position and keep plays in front of him. His calling card is his stick work: he breaks up plays, strips pucks, wins loose battles, and helps turn the puck back up ice.
The offense isn’t flashy, but he can move the puck well enough from the point to matter. That fits the profile of a player who doesn’t always jump off the screen, but often does exactly what a coaching staff wants. For a seventh-round pick, that kind of quiet effectiveness is a good place to be.
His road to the NHL roster this season still looks steep, but Malhotra being behind the bench in Vancouver gives him a better shot than he had before.
Projection-wise, Kudryavtsev’s ceiling is a reliable third-pair defenseman, with the ability to fill in as a fourth defender if needed. The catch is that Vancouver already has several young defensemen ahead of him on the depth chart, so he may not reach that level with the Canucks.
His floor looks pretty clear at this point: a dependable top-pairing AHL defenseman who can be called up in a pinch.
At 22, there’s still time for him to keep pushing. He has already appeared in five NHL games, and his steadiness makes him a strong candidate to be one of the first names considered for a call-up this season.
One detail worth watching is that during the Calder Cup run, Malhotra often called on Kudryavtsev instead of Victor Mancini. If that trust carries over, Kudryavtsev could end up with more than a brief NHL cameo this year.
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